1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of computer systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for coordinating performance parameters in multiple circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the number of transistors built into integrated circuits or “chips” continues to increase, the importance of power management becomes more evident. Indeed, power management is generally a critical requirement in the design of many electronic devices. For example, in the case of portable devices, power management techniques can increase battery life and therefore the usefulness of the product. Moreover, even in cases where a particular device does not operate on battery, managing power consumption can have numerous benefits. For example, in addition to lessening energy consumption, power management can reduce heat generated by a given device, which in turn ameliorates its cooling requirements.
As part of managing power and performance tradeoffs in an integrated circuit, the performance states of various components on the integrated circuit can be changed. For example, the clock frequencies of clocks used by the various components can be changed. Managing the changes over multiple components can be difficult to implement correctly.